


New Hope

by redaura



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2014-02-06
Packaged: 2018-01-11 01:27:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1166970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redaura/pseuds/redaura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kensei and Hisagi in the immediate aftermath of the war against Aizen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Hope

Hisagi was woken by the hustle bustle about him. He was lying in a makeshift medical tent the fourth division had set up in Karakura town. Captain Unohana had decided against transporting the wounded back to Soul Society due to the severity of some of the injuries. Medical equipment and necessities were instead brought over and the members of the fourth division were working at speed to deliver the supplies to the ones most in need. Hanatarou was adjusting Hisagi’s drip when the latter opened his eyes. Hisagi had sustained a considerable amount of damage in the fight and had been kept under a sedative to minimize the stress on his body.

"Oh, you’re awake, Hisagi-san."

"Where…." Hisagi could barely speak.

"Please do not exert yourself, Hisagi-san. The war is over, it seems Ichigo-san defeated Aizen. Oh, some of the old captains and vice-captains have returned and there’s talk of reinstating them to their former positions. I thought they were exiled a long time ago but oh, what do I know..."

Hanatarou continued to ramble on about the situation but Hisagi was no longer listening. Mention of the word captain brought everything back to him. Captain Tousen was dead. His life had been stamped out right before his eyes and while Komamura had reacted with anger against Aizen, Hisagi had lost his strength to fight there and then. All he had wanted was for his captain to come home but Tousen seemed a different person during that fight. Nobody was perfect, perhaps Aizen had manipulated him like how he had deceived the shinigami of Soul Society. Hisagi wanted to believe that. If he killed that insect-like creature that had corrupted his captain, perhaps he could regain the one who once gave him confidence and motivation with his teachings. Hisagi wanted to believe that but it all came to a shockingly abrupt end. The last he remembered was looking at the bloodied remains of his captain.

"Hisagi-san, I am going to increase the dose so that you can rest," said Hanatarou, interrupting his thoughts. "I am going to see to the other patients, will you be all right here?"

Hisagi nodded.

Just before Hanatarou left the tent, he turned and added, ”Oh I forgot to tell you Hisagi-san, Muguruma-san came to see you once when you were unconscious. I was surprised he knew your name. Have you two met before? Ahh, sorry, I should not keep you from your rest. I will be going now.”

Muguruma Kensei. The name seemed something of the past, something that belonged to his younger days. During that period of innocence, Hisagi had immense admiration of this great man who had saved his life. Although he did not have the opportunity of meeting him again when he eventually joined the academy, the memory if him had remained strong and continued to inspire him. But after everything that has happened, that admiration seemed nothing more than childish glorification. Hisagi did not know anything about this man and his captain was dead. He could not find any joy in Muguruma Kensei's timely return. His mind was still numb.

***

"So the vice-captain is finally awake." Kensei walked in while Hanatarou was changing Hisagi’s bandages. Hisagi had only slept an hour and was still drowsy from the sedative.

"Ah, Muguruma-san, I’m almost done, there!" said Hanatarou as he finished with the last bandage. Then he bowed and hurried out.

Hisagi noticed that Kensei had not changed much in the past hundred years. He was still every bit as impressive and imposing as he remembered.

"Hisagi Shuuhei, that sniveling brat from so long ago. Never expected to see you again as vice-captain and of the 9th squad no less," Kensei smirked.

Hisagi looked down in embarrassment. Of course, Kensei would only remember him as a boy but a crying, helpless child was not the best first impression.

"So you’ve been looking after my squad, eh?"

"Your…?" The words did not sit right with Hisagi.

"I’ll have this squad restored to how it was back then, before Tousen took it away from me."

Hisagi’s hands clenched slightly.

"Please do not talk of Tousen-taichou in that way," he said with great effort.

"You still acknowledge him as captain?"

"He was my captain. And he cared about the squad."

Kensei’s temper was not his strength and he could feel his anger rising from the memory of the betrayal.

"That man betrayed his own captain 100 years ago by stabbing him in the back. And then he betrayed your loyalty by abandoning the squad to follow Aizen. He’s undeserving of your devotion and the squad is all the better without him," Kensei said furiously.

"What wrongs Tousen-taichou has done doesn’t negate the good he has done. He has helped many of the shinigami in the squad find their purpose, their strength, myself included." Hisagi did not really know what he was saying since he was emotionally conflicted himself, torn between his loyalty to the man who gave meaning to his fears and his shock at the monstrous transformation he witnessed during the fight. But he felt the need to defend his captain’s honor against this outsider who seemed to not know any better than to judge an entire person's worth based on an old grudge.

Hisagi felt something crumble inside. Maybe he was not being reasonable himself. Did he really know the person that was Captain Tousen? Was he not also biased in the way he defended his captain based on merits alone? Hisagi still could not understand his captain's transformation. What could he have done to make things right? What did he do wrong?

"Okay, okay. Relax, your wounds will reopen if you tense up like that," replied Kensei, having calmed himself and realizing that this was not the time for such a discussion.

Kensei placed his hand on Hisagi’s forehead much to the latter’s surprise.

"You’re still running a slight fever," Kensei remarked.

Hisagi did not know how to react but his body forgot the tension and suddenly felt heavy from exhaustion.

He began to drift in and out of consciousness. He could hear some sort of commotion in his half-waking state. Somebody was yelling that the ground was about to cave in. Then he felt strong arms carry him and the pressure of the speed of _shunpo_. Then there was a thundering crash which forced him back to consciousness. He opened his eyes a little and saw that he was looking up at Kensei, who was holding him. Kensei looked annoyed and there were faint mutters around him. Did something serious happen?

"Those idiots should’ve checked the structure’s stability before designating the area for medical tents," Kensei was saying to someone.

Hisagi could not really see much other than huge billows of smoke. There was a slight pain in his abdomen and he was thankful for the support of Kensei’s arm. His head nodded against Kensei’s chest as he drifted back to sleep. It did not seem long before Hisagi was awoken again by someone’s screaming. Mashiro was yelling at the top of her voice.

"Pervert Kensei!!! I saw Kensei taking advantage of Hisagi-san!!! Kensei has the hots for his new vice-captain!! Pervert!!!"

"Shut up Mashiro!" Kensei growled.

"Kensei was undressing Hisagi-san!!!" It seemed like Mashiro had an audience as laughter could be heard.

"The fourth squad is short-handed so I was going to change his bandages, you idiot!! Now stop talking nonsense!!!" Kensei flung the used bandages at Mashiro but she dodged and blew raspberries at him before disappearing down the corridor.

They were now back in Soul Society, in the medical quarters of the 4th division.

"Sorry, did Mashiro wake you?" asked Kensei. "Your wounds reopened during the move."

Hisagi's _kosode_ had been undone so that his abdominal wound could be bandaged more easily.

"Was the 9th squad this lively when you were captain?" Hisagi asked quietly.

"Indeed, with Mashiro around it never fails to be a circus," muttered Kensei, obviously still agitated by Mashiro's theatrics.

"So it is true you will be our captain now."

"I suppose so," replied Kensei. He looked at Hisagi carefully, uncertain of how the vice-captain was going to take the news considering their earlier argument.

Hisagi managed a smile. He unexpectedly felt relieved. The physical and emotional drain on his psyche from recent events was such that he did not think he would have had the strength to continue shouldering the burden of leading his division by himself. He needed time to recover and perhaps the presence of an inspiration from his younger days was not such a bad thing. He had lost a captain but one had returned. The one who he never properly thanked because he had been too busy crying.

"I... have admired you ever since that day," said Hisagi.

"I know." Kensei gently touched the '69' tattoo on Hisagi's cheek.

"Thank you, taichou," Hisagi whispered as he closed his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> kosode - the upper garment of the shinigami's uniform
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.
> 
> All critique welcome.


End file.
